a little homeschooling insight

Just stopping in real quick.  We officially started the school year today.  Madison is in 1st grade, Austin Pre-K, and Kamdyn is in "whatever I can do to sabotage homeschool."  Seriously.  No joke.

I have a feeling that the most challenging thing this year is going to be conducting a learning environment with a toddler around.  Toddlers make messes, get into things, laugh at you when you tell them no.

Kamdyn is no different.  And we're only skimming the surface, because she's not even walking yet.  It's ok, though.  It's part of the game.  We'll persevere. 

I suspected that this would be an issue, so I did try to plan ahead.  Our "classroom" is a picture of order compared to last year. 

This cabinet makes me smile.  A euphoric, organizational kind of smile.  Ahhh.

This, on the other hand, may have to change.  One day, and the Destroyer found the cotton balls in the craft supplies.

This is the table where they do their "seat work".  Madison and Austin have a caddy with their pencils, crayons, scissors, counters for math (little eraser from the Dollar Store that they can use to count, add, subtract, etc), glue stick, things they will use a lot.

Why doesn't Kamdyn have one?  Like I said, the Destroyer.  She would have that thing dumped and dismantled faster than you can say Crazy Homeschool Mom.

The books, Yo! 

I love books.  There are 3 bins on top.  One with colors and shapes books (for Kamdyn), the next with ABC, 123 books (for Austin), and the other with easy reader books (for Madison).  I have the rest of the book shelf organized in my own crazy system that I won't bore you with. 

Back to the "Classroom".

This table is mostly for crafts, coloring, and play-doh (hence the rug underneath).

 

I don't mind wall clutter if it's an effective use of space.  I used the front of the cabinet to hang some posters and things that we will use regularly. 

I left the alphabet pockets up from last year.  They are just envelopes that I cut to make into more of a pocket.  I recently found colorful ones at the Dollar Store that would be perfect too.  Inside each pocket are pictures from magazines that go with the corresponding letter.  When introducing a letter, I can have them go to the pocket and pull out the pictures as we say each one and emphasize the letter it starts with.  The next day, I can hand them the stack of pictures, have them tell me what they are, what sound they begin with, and then place them into the pocket.  I can throw in one that doesn't belong and see if they can figure it out.  Later, after they know more letters, I can hand them a stack of miscellaneous pictures and have them find the right letter pocket.

These are pieces from a bulletin board set that I inherited along the way.  But you can easily make a matching game like this.  They have nice coin cut-outs at the dollar store, and you can write the values on index cards for them to match.

I'm using this rug for "Reading Time" and "Free Play".  But did you know that Michelle Duggar trains her babies to sit on a rug and play so that she can attend to the other children's schooling?  I haven't read it personally, but a friend was telling me that from a very early age, she puts the baby on the rug with a couple of toys and makes it a big deal, a treat.  She praises them for staying there and playing, and eventually, they just stay on that rug when she needs them to.  For real!?  That's what I need for the Destroyer, but I think we're a bit late for that.  Seeing how she laughed at me today every time I told her "no."  Sigh.

Just one more little side note.  Everything is better if you give it a name.  For example, it's not just crafts but "Craft Time" or "Play-doh Time".  Playing outside is "Outdoor Play" and playing inside is "Free Play".  Then, playing becomes a treat, and they don't want to waste the time.  Reading independently is "Book Time".  I like to think of what activities I can assign a name to.  It makes me laugh.  It's how a homeschool mom gets her kicks, I guess.  The other week, I took a little yellow, school chair, wrote, "TIME OUT" and a sad face : ( on it.  The kids walked by it.  And laughed.  But today, when they were sent to the "Time Out Chair", it worked.  They didn't want be separated from what they were doing. 

So there you have it.  Just a few reflections after our first day today.